USA: Bush adviser Karl Rove to quit this month

Karl Rove, the man who set the political strategy for U.S. President George W. Bush's two White House victories and became a favourite target for critics, intends to resign later this month. Rove, who has always been the target of partisan criticism by Bush's Democratic opponents, says he is leaving the White House job to spend more time with his family. Karl Rove, who set the political strategy for U.S. President George W. Bush's two White House victories and became a favourite target for critics, announced Monday (August 13, 2007) he is resigning. Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff, was known as the architect of Bush's political career governor of Texas to two terms as president. He is the latest senior aide to quit as Bush nears the end of his presidency. Rove said he had been thinking of leaving a year ago but decided against departing right after the election losses last November. "It always seemed there was a better time to leave somewhere out there in the future. But now is the time," Rove said in emotional remarks alongside Bush at the White House. "I will miss, deeply miss my work here, my colleagues, and the opportunity to serve you and our nation, Mr. President. But I look forward to continuing our friendship of 34 years, to being your fierce and committed advocate on the outside, and to the next journey we might make together." Stephen Hess, a senior fellow at the Brooking Institution described Rove as a great strategist. "He has a special place in the history of this administration, largely because he was the strategist who designed the flight plan that got George W. Bush elected and re-elected. That was quite a remarkable bit of American history," Hess said. But the fiercely partisan Rove has also come under much scrutiny from Bush's Democratic opponents for his no-holds-barred approach to politics. Rove's departure could complicate Bush's agenda for his remaining 17 months. Some critics have pointed to troubles with the Iraq war as well as legislative failures to reform Social Security and immigration as part of Rove's legacy. "As a White House adviser, he was in some ways more of a failure than a success. He was basically in charge of the domestic plans in the second term, and that stressed an issue -- social security. The president wasted all of the momentum of his second election campaigning on that particular issue," Hess added. Rove has been a controversial figure throughout Bush's presidency. He was investigated by a special prosecutor, but never charged, in the search for person who leaked the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame. Throughout the Plame affair, Rove never lost Bush's support. Rove helped Republicans expand their majorities in Congress after Bush won the White House in a contested 2000 race, but Bush and Rove suffered a major setback in 2006 when Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The resignation comes as Bush's job approval rating has hovered near historic lows, in large part due to the Iraq war.

ITN Source | August 14, 2007

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